Originally Posted by corvuscorvax

Bicycle wheels are different from all the other components on a bicycle because they are prestressed structures. I'm not saying I don't believe they work, but it would take me a lot of convincing to feel comfortable with a prestressed structure made out of aluminum, since aluminum doesn't stretch nicely, and it is exactly the stretch of the steel spokes that give a wheel its structural strength. See below:



I must be missing something...